According to a new study, published in The Journal of Physiology, fish oil supplements may prevent the detrimental metabolic effects of a fatty diet, like type 2 diabetes.

The researchers from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, examined how fish oil supplementation could impact the metabolism of mice on a high-fat diet. The high0fat diet caused significant changes in the metabolism of mice. However, the range of metabolic alterations did not arise in mice that received the fish oil supplements. Thus negative metabolic effects of a fatty diet were halted by fish oil.

Prof. Maria Isabel Alonso-Vale, the lead author of the study, says: “Our research suggests that fish oil supplements may be used in addition to other strategies as a preventive measure for insulin resistance and obesity.”